Mailing package



Dec.- 10, 1940. E. J. HOFFMANN 2,224,455.

MAILING PACKAGE Fil ed Oct. 24, 1958 farwara m0)??? INVENTOR ill Patented Dec. 10, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MAILING PACKAGE Edward J. ,Hoffmann, Cincinnati, Ohio Application October 24, 1938, SerialNc. 236,599

5 Claims.

sack and insertable through the tag aperture.

An object of the invention is to provide apackage of the character referred to, which may be easily assembled for mailing, shipment, or storage, using the draw string as a sole means .of .securing the package in assembled condition.

Another object of the invention is to provide a package of the character stated, which may be used repeatedly and which is attractive and inexpensive to manufacture.

Another object is to provide a package of the character stated, which affords adequate protection to an article contained therein, and which may be used in certain types of business with a material saving of time and labor.

These and other objects are attained by the means described herein and disclosed in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the deviceof the invention, with its constituents arranged in readiness for disposition to mailing package formation.

Fig. 2 is an end view showing the package wrapped in mailing or shipping formation, with the draw string ends in position to be tied together about the package.

With reference to the accompanying drawing, 3 indicates a sack-constructed of any type of flexible material, such as cloth fabric, Cellophane .or the like, said sack having a mouth 4 suitably hemmed or otherwise arranged for reception of a draw string. The free ends 5 and 6 of the draw string are perhaps longer than is customary in sack closures of this general character, so that said ends may be utilized as a sole means of tying the package as will be hereinafter explained.

The sack has a bottom 'I which is closed, and said bottom may be stitched as at 8, or otherwise secured to the adjacent edge 9 of a flexible tag ID. If desired, the tag may be inserted into the bottom of the sack, as shown in Fig. 1, so that the stitching 8 may be applied through the sack and tag, while the tag is embraced by the opposite edges I2 and I3 of the sack bottom. It is to be distinctly understood, however, that the particular mode of attachment of the sack bottom to the tag may be varied, since it is not of absolute necessity that the tag edge 9 be embraced between parts of the tag bottom. That is to say, it is within the purview of the invention to merely overlap the previously closed bottom of the sack upon the margin of the tag edge I 9, and then sew or cement the sack bottom upon one of the plane faces of the tag.

It is to be noted that the tag is provided with an aperture or perforation I4, which by preference is located intermediate the side edges I5 and I6 of the tag, close to the edge 9. The aperture is made suflicient-ly large to receive the free ends 5 and 6 of the draw string, as indicated in. Fig. l, v the string ends being inserted from the inside" face I! of the tag, toward the outside face I8 thereof.

It should readily be evident that pulling the draw string ends (Fig. 1) will bring the mouth 4 of the sack toward the aperture I4, thereby wrap- 1 ping the outer portion I9 of the sack about the article '20 therein contained, whereupon the tag may be wrapped about the sack and its enclosed article in the manner illustrated by Fig. 2. The draw string ends thereupon may be pulled taut'f20 in opposite directions about the outer face of the tag, and tied together for maintaining the assembled condition of the package. The draw string ends may be sufiiciently long to encircle the pack age more than once, if desired, and it is of course conceivable that the draw string ends, instead of being tied together with a knot, may be otherwise fastened about a post or Washer, in accordance with the practice sometimes employed on third class mail envelopes.

The package formed as above explained fur-- nishes adequate protection for the article 20, and the assembly thereof may be accomplished with a minimum expenditure of time and effort. With the package assembled as in Fig. 2, the-outer face 18 of the tag furnishes a writing surface and also a surface to which postage stamps may be applied in the event that the package is to be used for mailing purposes. 7

It may here be stated that the aperture I4, while preferably located near .the securing edge 9 of the tag, may nevertheless be located at a distance therefrom, however, in the preferred form of the invention, the aperture is placed in proximity to the line of attachment between the sack and the tag. It may be noted that the device of the invention may be shipped in a flat condition, when supplied in quantities to prospective users, so as to conserve space and facilitate packing. In the flattened condition, the tag would extend flatwise from one side of the securing line 8 while the sack extends in the opposite direction, preferably with the mouth 4 thereof open so as to avoid the thickness of the pleated or gathered condition of the sack material occurring near the mouth thereof when closed. In this manner, the devices may be shipped in gross lots, within a small compact carton or other container, in supplying the distributor or jobber.

While the device of the invention is useful for mailing, shipping, or storing many different kinds of articles, it is very conveniently employed for the mailing of such articles as camera films and the like. When used as a container or package for light-sensitive articles such. as camera film rolls, it is considered desirable tomake the sack 3 of light impervious material, or of properly tinted.

substance in the nature of Cellophane, for the purpose of excluding those light rays which might have the effect of fogging or otherwise injuring the light-sensitive roll of film. The particular colors of Cellophane or the like to be incorporated for the purpose of protecting the film, are well known to those skilled in the art of manufacturing and handling sensitized film. Various shades of green and red are colors most commonly used for the purpose stated, however, the invention is not to be limited to the employment of the two colors mentioned. As a matter of fact, an opaque sack may be used with equally good results, should the device of the invention be adapted for packaging light-sensitive articles.

It is to be understood that various modifications and changes in the structural details of the device may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A mailable package which comprises: a flexible sack for enveloping an elongated mailable article, said sack having an open end for reception of said article, a draw string for closing the open end of the sack, and a flexible apertured tag secured to the sack and wrapped about the sack and the article contained therein, with the draw string ends inserted through the tag aperture and wound about the tag while the tag is wrapped about the sack transversely of the length of the article therein, and fastened to form the completed package.

2 A mailable package which comprises: a flexible sack for enveloping an elongated mailable article, said sack having a bottom and an open end for reception of said article for disposition lengthwise of said bottom, means for closing the open end of the sack, including a draw string having a plurality of free long ends,-and an apertured flexible tag secured to the sack and. wrapped transversely of the length of the article contained within the sack, with the long free ends 04 the draw string inserted through the aperture of the tag and wound about the exterior of the wrapped tag in opposite directions from the region of the aperture, while the tag encircles the sack and the article therein, with the draw string ends tied together to form the completed package.

3. A mailable package which comprises a flexible sack and a mailable article therein, said sack having a mouth and a closed bottom, means for closing the mouth of the sack, including a draw string having a plurality of free long ends, and a flexible apertured tag having an edge fixed to the bottom of the sack, with the tag extending away from the sack mouth and wrapped about the sack and the article contained therein, the aperture of the wrapped tag being locatedclose to the sack mouth in the Wrapped condition of the tag, and the draw strings being drawn taut through the aperture to pull the mouth of the sack toward the aperture, preparatory to winding the draw strings about the tag .and tying the ends of the draw string together after encircling the wrapped tag.

- 4. A package which comprises an elongated article and a flexible sack having an open top and a'bottom of sufficient length for disposition of the article within the sack along the sack bottom in substantial parallelism with said bottom, the open top of the sack being hemmed to providea channel, and a draw-string in the channel adapted to be pulled for closing the open top of the sack upon the article placed therein, a flexible apertured tag coiled about the sack and the article therein, said tag having opposite ends, one end being fixed to the sack bottom with the aperture disposed near the sack bottom, and having the draw-string ends extended therethrough from the interior to the exterior of the package, whereby the inserted ends of the draw-string are disposed exteriorly of the coiled tag in condition for anchoring them about the coiled tag containing the sack and the article therein.

5. As a new article of manufacture, a packaging device which comprises a flexible sack having a mouth and a closed bot-tom, means for closing the mouth of the sack, including a draw string having end portions thereof extending from the region of the sack mouth when the mouth is held closed thereby, and a flexible tag secured to the sack bottom, said tag having a width substantially equal to the width of the sack and having an aperture therein located closely adjacent to the line of attachment of thetag and sack bottom and approximately midway of the lateral edges of the tag, said string being of a length suflicient to have the end portions thereof pass through wrapping of the string ends in opposite directions beyond said aperture, serves to automatically wrap the tag around the sack.

EDWARD J. HOFFMANN. 

